Stephen Alford, of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., is accused in a plan that offered to shut down a high-profile, criminal sex-trafficking investigation into the lawmaker.A Florida developer and fraud convict was arrested Tuesday on a charge that he tried to extort $25 million from the father of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.). | (Patrick Semansky/AP Photo)A Florida developer and fraud convict was arrested Tuesday on a charge that he tried to extort $25 million from the father of Rep. Matt Gaetz in exchange for a presidential pardon that would shut down a high-profile, criminal sex-trafficking...…Stephen Alford, of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., is accused in a plan that offered to shut down a high-profile, criminal sex-trafficking investigation into the lawmaker.A Florida developer and fraud convict was arrested Tuesday on a charge that he tried to extort $25 million from the father of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.). | (Patrick Semansky/AP Photo)A Florida developer and fraud convict was arrested Tuesday on a charge that he tried to extort $25 million from the father of Rep. Matt Gaetz in exchange for a presidential pardon that would shut down a high-profile, criminal sex-trafficking...WW…

Federal prosecutors might now have two cooperating witnesses in sex-crimes investigation.Federal authorities are examining Rep. Matt Gaetz's Bahamas trip to see if it violated the Mann Act, which forbids transporting people across state lines to engage in prostitution. | Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesMIAMI — Matt Gaetz’s former girlfriend has told friends she’s worried that the woman who is key to the federal government’s sex-crimes investigation tried to get her to incriminate the Florida lawmaker on a recorded call.The revelation raises the possibility that federal prosecutors have two top...…Federal prosecutors might now have two cooperating witnesses in sex-crimes investigation.Federal authorities are examining Rep. Matt Gaetz's Bahamas trip to see if it violated the Mann Act, which forbids transporting people across state lines to engage in prostitution. | Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesMIAMI — Matt Gaetz’s former girlfriend has told friends she’s worried that the woman who is key to the federal government’s sex-crimes investigation tried to get her to incriminate the Florida lawmaker on a recorded call.The revelation raises the possibility that federal prosecutors have two top...WW…

Federal agents executed a search warrant and seized the Florida congressman’s iPhone last winter.Rep. Matt Gaetz, who has not been charged, has consistently denied the two anonymous claims against him: that he had sex with a 17-year-old girl and paid for sex. | Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesMIAMI — The group took off for their Bahamas weekend getaway on three separate flights. Most of the passengers, which included at least five young women, flew out of Orlando on two separate private planes. flew commercial.The details of that September 2018 trip are sparse, but they are critical to the...…Federal agents executed a search warrant and seized the Florida congressman’s iPhone last winter.Rep. Matt Gaetz, who has not been charged, has consistently denied the two anonymous claims against him: that he had sex with a 17-year-old girl and paid for sex. | Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesMIAMI — The group took off for their Bahamas weekend getaway on three separate flights. Most of the passengers, which included at least five young women, flew out of Orlando on two separate private planes. flew commercial.The details of that September 2018 trip are sparse, but they are critical to the...WW…

One thing the former president proved is that unless you're Donald Trump and sit in the White House, his strategy doesn't work as well.Ever since the first report that he faced a Department of Justice investigation into potential trafficking of an underage girl, Rep. Matt Gaetz has channeled the former president as he tries to explain the inquiry away. | Michael Ciaglo/Getty ImagesA person in serious legal jeopardy tends to, per their lawyer’s advice, shut up. Matt Gaetz is handling his current problems a little differently.Trying to deflect from the threat of a federal criminal...…One thing the former president proved is that unless you're Donald Trump and sit in the White House, his strategy doesn't work as well.Ever since the first report that he faced a Department of Justice investigation into potential trafficking of an underage girl, Rep. Matt Gaetz has channeled the former president as he tries to explain the inquiry away. | Michael Ciaglo/Getty ImagesA person in serious legal jeopardy tends to, per their lawyer’s advice, shut up. Matt Gaetz is handling his current problems a little differently.Trying to deflect from the threat of a federal criminal...WW…

The Florida senator can’t get traction with the party’s base ahead of a possible 2024 presidential bid.Sen. Rick Scott addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference. | Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesSen. Rick Scott has spent years courting MAGA supporters. But he can’t quite get them to love him.The billionaire-turned-politician is trying to build his own national brand ahead of a potential run for president, but some early stumbles — including a recent pivot away from Trump — aren’t endearing him with the base.“I would argue what he has done since the election has been confusing,” said...…The Florida senator can’t get traction with the party’s base ahead of a possible 2024 presidential bid.Sen. Rick Scott addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference. | Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesSen. Rick Scott has spent years courting MAGA supporters. But he can’t quite get them to love him.The billionaire-turned-politician is trying to build his own national brand ahead of a potential run for president, but some early stumbles — including a recent pivot away from Trump — aren’t endearing him with the base.“I would argue what he has done since the election has been confusing,” said...WW…

The state party recorded one of the worst election performances in the country. Now comes an identity crisis.POLITICO Illustration / iStockTALLAHASSEE, Fla. — It wasn’t just one bad cycle. For Democrats in Florida, Election Day 2020 was a tipping point in a long, painful buildup to irrelevancy.After suffering crushing losses from the top of the ballot down, the state party now is mired in a civil war that could have profound consequences for future elections.High hopes for gains in the state Legislature have given way to recriminations and finger-pointing. Florida Democratic Party Chair...…The state party recorded one of the worst election performances in the country. Now comes an identity crisis.POLITICO Illustration / iStockTALLAHASSEE, Fla. — It wasn’t just one bad cycle. For Democrats in Florida, Election Day 2020 was a tipping point in a long, painful buildup to irrelevancy.After suffering crushing losses from the top of the ballot down, the state party now is mired in a civil war that could have profound consequences for future elections.High hopes for gains in the state Legislature have given way to recriminations and finger-pointing. Florida Democratic Party Chair...WW…

Ron DeSantis rode a Trump tweet to victory in Florida. Can he keep the pandemic at bay long enough to return the favor?Illustration by Zach MeyerTALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Ron DeSantis wanted names.We were in his office here in Florida’s Covid-shuttered Capitol, three reporters wearing masks spread out across from a non-masked DeSantis—stocky, suited and seated behind his desk stacked with thick binders and folders filled with county-by-county coronavirus data. He was flanked by two also maskless staffers and surrounded by carefully curated images and totems—snapshots of him in his Navy whites...…Ron DeSantis rode a Trump tweet to victory in Florida. Can he keep the pandemic at bay long enough to return the favor?Illustration by Zach MeyerTALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Ron DeSantis wanted names.We were in his office here in Florida’s Covid-shuttered Capitol, three reporters wearing masks spread out across from a non-masked DeSantis—stocky, suited and seated behind his desk stacked with thick binders and folders filled with county-by-county coronavirus data. He was flanked by two also maskless staffers and surrounded by carefully curated images and totems—snapshots of him in his Navy whites...WW…

Party officials in Florida’s most populous county are sweating weak early voting turnout among several key groups.People wait in line to vote outside of an early voting site in Miami Beach, Fla., on Oct. 20, 2020. | Lynne Sladky/AP PhotoMIAMI — Democrats are sounding the alarm about weak voter turnout rates in Florida’s biggest county, Miami-Dade, where a strong Republican showing is endangering Joe Biden’s chances in the nation’s biggest swing state.No Democrat can win Florida without a huge turnout and big winning margins here to offset losses elsewhere in the state. But Democrats are...…Party officials in Florida’s most populous county are sweating weak early voting turnout among several key groups.People wait in line to vote outside of an early voting site in Miami Beach, Fla., on Oct. 20, 2020. | Lynne Sladky/AP PhotoMIAMI — Democrats are sounding the alarm about weak voter turnout rates in Florida’s biggest county, Miami-Dade, where a strong Republican showing is endangering Joe Biden’s chances in the nation’s biggest swing state.No Democrat can win Florida without a huge turnout and big winning margins here to offset losses elsewhere in the state. But Democrats are...WW…

Democrats are active even in The Villages, a Trump stronghold.A poll worker assists a voter in Tallahassee, Fla. | Mark Wallheiser/Getty ImagesTALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida seniors, long an unflinching bloc of reliable GOP votes, are suddenly in play as President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus has his reelection campaign on the defensive.The pandemic and anxiety about possible cuts to entitlement programs have eroded the GOP’s once-solid advantage with the battleground state’s retirees, recent polls show, a demographic Republicans have won by double digits in recent presidential...…Democrats are active even in The Villages, a Trump stronghold.A poll worker assists a voter in Tallahassee, Fla. | Mark Wallheiser/Getty ImagesTALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida seniors, long an unflinching bloc of reliable GOP votes, are suddenly in play as President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus has his reelection campaign on the defensive.The pandemic and anxiety about possible cuts to entitlement programs have eroded the GOP’s once-solid advantage with the battleground state’s retirees, recent polls show, a demographic Republicans have won by double digits in recent presidential...WW…